THE CASE HISTORY OF SILICON WAFER REPROCESSING IS A STUDY IN THE ADVANTAGES AND LIMITS OF LASER CUTTING. AS DISCUSSED IN THIS ARTICLE, LASER CUTTING OF SILICON WAFERS REQUIRES THE PRECISE CONTROL OF LASER POWER DENSITY, TRAVERSE SPEED, AND GOOD TOOLING. EVEN WHEN ALL PARAMETERS ARE OPTIMIZED, THE DETERIORATION OF THE SILICON STRUCTURE DUE TO THERMAL SHOCK ALONG THE EDGES OF THE CUT RESULTS IN SIGNIFICANT YIELD LOSSES AND THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITY FOR MECHANICAL REWORK (EDGE GRINDING) OF THE LASER CUT WAFERS. THUS, AS SHOWN IN THE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, THE COST SAVINGS AVAILABLE THRU LASER CUTTING ARE TAXED BY THE COST OF REWORK. THE HIGH ADJUSTED COST OF LASER CUTTING ALSO GAVE RISE TO THE NEED TO INVESTIGATE ALTERNATE MANUFACTURING METHODS, IN THIS CASE ABRASIVE WATERJET CUTTING (AWJ). THE PROPOSED AWJ METHOD AND EQUIPMENT PROMISES GOOD QUALITY AND ECONOMICS. AWJ CUTTING MAY REPLACE THE LASE